The Impact of Electricity on Economic Development: A Macroeconomic Perspective

Paul Burke (), David Stern and Stephan B. Bruns

International Review of Environmental and Resource Economics, 2018, vol. 12, issue 1, 85-127

Abstract: This paper provides a review of the macro-level evidence on the importance of electricity for economic development. We find that electricity access and use are strongly correlated with economic development, as theory suggests. Despite a large empirical literature, however, there are few methodologically strong studies that establish causal effects of either electricity use or electricity infrastructure on economic growth. The micro-level literature provides more convincing evidence of causal effects, although these appear not to be uniform in all locations. We present a number of country case studies that are suggestive of electrification playing an important role in broad-based development progress. The paper also identifies potential avenues for future research. High-quality macro-level evidence on the economic effects of electricity access and reliability would help policy-makers and aid agencies make decisions regarding investment priorities.

Keywords: Electricity; economic development; reliability; economic growth; Africa (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q43 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (19)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:now:jirere:101.00000101

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